Dr. Joel at the Parapan American Games

Dr. Joel at the Parapan American Games

June 2012

This past summer, I had the honor and privilege of being selected by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) to be part of the medical staff with Team USA for the Parapan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico which concluded last month. The Games (the 4th) are an international multi sport event for Olympic-caliber athletes with various physical disabilities and is a qualifier for the Paralympic games this upcoming summer, in London.

A total of 1300 athletes (200 athletes from the United States) from 24 different countries competed in 275 different events in 13 sports. The national governing body (NGB) I worked with was track and field. Our sports medicine “team” consisted of a multidisciplinary group including a medical physician, physical therapist, athletic trainer, massage therapist and myself (sounds like VIMG!).

A typical work day would average between 16-18 hours and include covering track and field practices, clinic treatment time, Team USA and medical staff briefings and hopefully (but not always) a quick bite to eat. The days were long but incredibly rewarding. The opening and closing ceremonies were remarkable and Mexico put on a great show! One of the highlights of my trip was meeting and speaking with Mexico’s first lady, Margarita Zavala.

Each athlete (and their disability) is ‘classified’ early in their athletic career with a very specific process. This ensures the events and competitions are equally fair. For example, you have similar athletes, with similar disabilities, competing against one another. While Brazil beat us in the overall medal count, Team USA recorded 51 gold, 47 silver and 34 bronze over the 8 days of competition.

If having an opportunity to work on some of the best US athletes wasn’t enough, watching them compete with their physical disabilities was a very moving experience (try to picture a blind athlete performing the long jump). There were Iraqi veterans who had lost limbs, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, cerebral palsy, stroke and blind/visually impaired athletes to name a few. Not only have these individuals become world class athletes, they are the most positive and ‘can do’ people I have ever met.

The only draw back to the entire experience was being away from my wife and children. I learned how to Skype like a pro while I was gone!